Tata Motors arm to operate 921 electric buses in B'luru; stock down

Auto giant Tata Motors shares are trading down today despite its subsidiary signing a definitive agreement with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for operating 921 electric buses in Bengaluru. The company's shares are trading down 0.90% or ₹3.80 at ₹417.80. The stock, which opened a gap-up at ₹422.40 today, declined 3.49% in the past week. In contrast, the BSE benchmark Sensex is up 0.53% at 61,663.74 currently, while Nifty is also up 0.54% at 18,368.60.

Tata Motors' fully owned subsidiary TML Smart City Mobility Solutions Ltd. signed the deal with BMTC on Friday last week. TML Smart City will supply, operate and maintain 921 units of 12-metre low-floor electric buses for 12 years. Tata Starbus Electric is an indigenously developed vehicle. The company claims it has "best-in-class" features for sustainable and comfortable commutes. The company didn't mention the overall financial costs of the deal.

G Sathyavathi, MD, BMTC, said, “The induction of the zero-emission, eco-friendly buses will benefit all stakeholders and help in curbing air pollution. Tata Motors’ vast experience in the electric mobility domain will certainly assist in providing uninterrupted, safe and comfortable commute in the city.” TML Smart City CEO & MD Asim Kumar Mukhopadhyay said the efforts will help modernise and electrify the public transportation in Bengaluru. "We are confident that the electric buses will provide sustainable, safe and comfortable public transportation to the commuters of Bengaluru,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Tata Motors says its R&D facilities have steadily worked to engineer "innovative mobility solutions" powered by alternate fuel technology, including battery-electric, hybrid, CNG, LNG and hydrogen fuel cell technology. "To date, Tata Motors has supplied more than 730 electric buses across multiple cities in India, which have cumulatively clocked more than 55 million kilometres, with an uptime of over 95%."

The domestic electric passenger vehicle market is at a nascent stage, with 35,000 electric cars currently plying on Indian roads, according to data from consultancy firm Praxis Global Alliance. One of the major reasons is a dearth of supporting infrastructure, especially an inadequate number of charging stations, according to a white paper by Alvarez & Marsal. 

Tata Motors, for decades, has been No. 1 in the domestic commercial vehicle market, despite competition from both local and foreign brands. It made an aggressive foray into the EV segment, which led to an 85.4% market share in the segment in FY22. Its newly launched Tiago EV — the electric iteration of its Tiago hatchback, which was launched at an introductory price of ₹8.49 lakh — received more than 10,000 bookings in a single day.

In separate news, Tata Motors has decided to increase the prices of commercial vehicles from January 2023. The company will hike the prices of its commercial vehicles up to 2% from January 2023.